Cognitive Edge Network. Dispositional Learning Analytics: Learning Power in Complex Systems. Hindsight, Foresight, and Learning from Military History. We may agree that when it comes to Complex Systems, hindsight does not lead to foresight, but we can still learn from the past. Most of my time is spent in complex business systems but I've found military history to be a rich treasure trove of experience. We need look no further than Clausewitz's comments about "the fog of war" and "friction" that makes simple things difficult to recognize the inherent complexity of combat.
This post is going to be essentially a bibliography, probably so much that some of you will wonder if I've got stock in Amazon (I don't). But I am going to discuss some books that I've found to be good references applicable to both military and business environments (although sometimes with a bit of a stretch.) I first learned about USAF Col John Boyd several years ago in a workshop on project management. Boyd was possibly the world's greatest fighter pilot and in his later years worked to synthesize theories of strategy. Many people have heard of Boyd's OODA Loop. Ritual Dissent. Ritual Dissent Method - Click4it.